Abbott unclear on state funds for private-school tuition

AUSTIN – Gov. Greg Abbott emphasized his support for school choice Tuesday but didn’t say if that includes using state funds to pay for private school tuition.
“I’m a strong proponent of school choice, and I know that there’s going to be a lot of different options that are weighed during the course of the legislative session, and I’ll be interested in seeing what surfaces at the end,” Abbott said in response to reporters’ questions after a speech to the National Federation of Independent Business-Texas.
“I’ll be interested in seeing what surfaces at the end. But I would anticipate that we have even greater choices for school choice by the time this session ends,” he said.
Asked if he was talking about using state funds to pay for private school tuition, an idea that stirs controversy, Abbott said, “It’s premature to speculate on what may come out of the House and Senate, but I am in favor of school choice.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, has long pushed school choice, including a proposal in 2013 to allow companies to get tax credits if they donate money for private-school scholarships. Opponents say such voucher-style proposals would siphon needed money from public schools as they finance private-school educations.
A school-voucher idea in the state budget was killed in the House in 2013 under Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio.
Abbott last year told the San Antonio Express-News editorial board that a school voucher idea is “not at all a part of my program. I’m focused solely on public education.”